


Rather You Care For Me So Sweetly

by yousee_saros (all_ivvant)



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-05 19:16:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18372392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_ivvant/pseuds/yousee_saros
Summary: Nate didn’t plan on falling in love, but it happened anyways.





	Rather You Care For Me So Sweetly

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [venvephe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/venvephe/pseuds/venvephe) in the [wesmashing](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wesmashing) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
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> EJ is a vampire. 
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> No, really. Nobody believes him because - well. Y'know.
> 
> (How old EJ is/his history/what parts of the vampire mythos you would like to include are up to you! There just aren't enough (any?) Avs vampire fics. EJ/Nate would be *chef kiss*)

It’s weird, he thinks. One minute, you’re human, all your blood in your body, and the next thing you know, you’re dead. 

Technically, EJ isn’t actually dead, but his heart isn’t pumping blood through him anymore and he’s never really going to die. It’s weird, Nate thinks again, sitting there in the hospital waiting room, dried flecks of blood all over his shirt, absolutely exhausted and drained. He’s trying to figure out how to tell someone, anyone, on the team where they are and what just happened, but EJ decides to make his grand entrance right about then, pushing the door open so hard, it slams against the wall. 

Nate looks up, and makes a face. EJ looks, well, wrong. There’s something just not right about him, and Nate knows why. He stands up, and can’t look EJ in the eyes. 

“So, did you tell anyone on the team yet?” EJ asks, as if he can read Nate’s mind. He shakes his head and EJ rests a hand on his shoulder. “It’s probably for the best. I mean, it isn’t your story to share.” 

They make their way out to Nate’s car, and EJ stands with his hand on the car door handle. He doesn’t open the door, even after Nate’s unlocked it. 

“You can get in, if you’re waiting for an invite,” Nate says, slumping a little bit in the driver’s seat. EJ seems to unfreeze, and climbs in the passenger seat, stiff and uncomfortable. 

“I guess the whole inviting a vampire in wasn’t just an old wives tale,” he jokes, trying to ease the tension. Everything feels loaded, like a tightly coiled spring. 

Nate drives the two of them home and EJ flings himself on Nate’s couch as soon as he gets inside. It’s hard for Nate to not feel guilty, because he had invited EJ up to come visit and check out his new house. Of course, the second day EJ is here, something goes horribly wrong. He wouldn’t blame EJ for immediately flying back to Colorado or something. 

Much to Nate’s surprise, EJ is sprawled out on the couch the next morning. He nudges him awake, offering to make breakfast. It ends in the two of them having to shut off a smoke alarm, but it was the thought that counts, Nate tells himself as he cleans up the mess they made. 

***

Tyson asks Nate if EJ is a vampire a few weeks into the season. Nate almost spits his drink out on Tyson. Once he’s composed himself, he looks at Tyson like he can’t believe he didn’t know. 

“Brutes, we literally went over this the first day of training camp. EJ got turned this summer, remember? I was there, and he almost couldn’t show up because of it,” Nate says, and watches Tyson’s eyes almost pop out of his head. 

“Holy shit, you’re serious? I thought he was just joking,” he replies and Nate nods, slurping on his soda. They’re sitting next to the window in Panera, eating a post-practice lunch. Nate pokes at his salad and eyes Tyson’s giant bread bowl of soup. He should’ve gotten that instead, he realizes, taking a sad bite of lettuce and chicken.

“Yeah, I mean, you’ve seen the massive fangs that he grew, right? He looks super weird with ‘em, with the whole lack of teeth, but it’s kind of terrifying,” Nate explains while trying to steal some of Tyson’s soup. 

“If you wanted some soup, you should’ve ordered some, instead of your stupid salad thing. Besides, aren’t there rules about vampires in the NHL?” Tyson asks, fending off another soup attack by Nate, blocking him with his own spoon. 

“I didn’t want soup earlier.” Nate gets a small spoonful of soup before Tyson can react. “I mean, I know there was something with Dutchy, but he’s Ottawa’s problem now, so who knows?” 

“Wait, has there ever been a hockey player that got turned into a vampire, like, _while_ they were in the league?” Tyson asks, and Nate shrugs. He really hadn’t done much research into the whole thing; that was what EJ had done after he spent three days panicking on Nate’s couch. 

“Well, EJ’s kind of become the expert on the whole thing. Go ask him, because I sure as hell don’t know,” Nate huffs. Tyson rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone. Nate uses the moment to steal another spoonful of soup while he’s distracted, and Tyson is none the wiser when he looks up from his phone. 

***

Nate isn’t sure what to do. There’s just no luck tonight, and they just lose it. This game fucking sucks.

He looks over at EJ, down the bench, and he’s got this expression, like he can feel his +/- just dropping whenever he gets on the ice. Nate thinks it’s a stupid stat, but EJ just looks so upset. Nate just absolutely hates seeing EJ look this sad over hockey. 

So, when it’s Nate’s shift on the ice, he goes out there and does what he does best: Score. And he scores and scores, a natural hat trick, and the hats rain down. It doesn’t mean much, as the score is already out of hand when he scores his first goal, but the grin on EJ’s face makes it just a little bit better. He gives Nate a fist bump as the game ends, where the two of them ended up next to each other after the final shift. Nate nods his head, and they make their way into the dressing room, waiting for the media to descend. 

Nate ends up getting caught in the ensuring media scrum, and it catches him by surprise. Gabe throws a shirt at him before the media swarms, telling him to at least put it on. Maintain decency, his exact words. Nate rolls his eyes, like Gabe has room to talk. He’s caught Gabe with his pants down (literally) at least twice. 

He pulls it on over his head. It’s loose on him, and it smells like EJ’s aftershave. When he talks to the media, he’s a little distracted, but he brushes that off as exhaustion when Tyson asks him about it later. If he’s being honest, EJ’s shirt smells really, really, good. He’s so distracted by it that he drops his chest protector. 

Nate can’t help it, but he watches EJ from across the room as he takes care of his gear. He tries to get out of the media scrum, giving clipped but somewhat adequate answers because he wants to check on EJ. His answers just don’t cut it though, and he’s worried he’s missed his shot, until he sees EJ and realizes that he hasn’t left yet. 

Nate gathers his stuff to go take a shower, and makes his way over to where EJ is sitting. He’s glad that his stall is near the entrance to the showers, or else this might be a little awkward. 

“Hey,” he says, and EJ looks up at him. He smiles, looking absolutely exhausted; Nate’s pretty sure his face is an exact mirror.

“Hey, yourself. You did really well out there tonight, that last goal was an absolute beauty,” EJ says, and Nate looks down at the floor, his brain short circuiting. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed upset earlier,” Nate finally says, dragging his eyes away from the weird stain on the carpet he found. EJ smiles, teeth sharp, the smile reaching his eyes, and Nate watches them crinkle at the corners. Nate’s never noticed that, but now that’s all he can think of. How can he get EJ to smile like that more often?

“Oh, yeah, I’m alright. Don’t worry about me, we’ve got plenty of games left to play this season, Nate,” he tells him, pulling a grey shirt on over his head. His hair sticks straight up, and he runs a hand through it, trying to smooth it down. 

When Nate finally leaves the arena about fifteen minutes later, he realizes that he’s still wearing EJ’s shirt. He must’ve put it back on after getting out of the shower. 

He'll have to give it back at some point, but right now, he’s just ready to go home and go to sleep. He crawls into bed, bone tired, and curls up in EJ’s shirt. He means to send EJ a text to ask him when he wants his shirt back, but he falls asleep with the message half typed, his phone unlocked. 

***

Nate is over at Gabe’s house, some sort of get together. At this point, Nate is drunk enough that he doesn’t remember, and he doesn’t care enough to remember. 

What he does know, is that EJ is here, and everything he says is just really funny. It’s definitely because of the alcohol, but Nate can’t help it. 

He and EJ are sitting on the couch, and Nate keeps on sneaking glances at EJ, pressed together on Gabe’s couch. EJ slings an arm over Nate’s shoulders, talking to Sam about something on his other side. 

He’s absentmindedly running his hand through Nate’s hair, and Nate leans into it, lost in the sensation. Everything’s hazy, and he feels really good. 

The couch shifts and sinks next to Nate, When he shifts his gaze sideways he sees Tyson on the other side of him. 

“Hey, Mack, you good?” Tys asks, and Nate drags his eyes away from where they’ve strayed back to EJ. He nods, and Tyson raises an eyebrow. 

Nate doesn’t care, he’s just all wrapped up in the way it feels to have EJ’s hands on him. He’s probably not gonna remember this in the morning, but it’s a good feeling right now. 

Nate might not be in love, but he’s absolutely all for EJ touching him. His hands are freezing, but Nate’s body is just hot enough he doesn’t mind. 

EJ looks at him with that same warm, eye crinkling smile, and Nate’s stomach leaps. 

***

They’re in a bar, a few weeks later, waiting for their drinks they’ve ordered after a well-fought win. EJ’s got his arm slung over Nate’s shoulder. It’s loud, and Nate’s overwhelmed, in a good way. He’s warm, and Nate _wants_. 

EJ gets jostled and he drops his hand to Nate’s waist, and that sends a jolt up Nate’s spine. EJ’s hand is cold, and it feels wonderful because Nate’s body feels like it’s on fire. EJ shifts a little, hand slipping just a little further under Nate’s shirt. Nate pushes his face against EJ’s neck, his breath ghosting over his skin. 

If EJ is bothered by the sudden pressure against his neck, he doesn’t show it, and Nate suddenly gets a wonderfully awful idea. He slips an arm around EJ’s waist, and presses a small kiss to the crook of EJ’s neck. To Nate's delight, he can hear a small whine escape EJ's throat. It's strangled, like EJ tried to hold it in, but just couldn't help it.

He slides his hand further up Nate’s shirt, ghosting up his side, and Nate’s breath hitches. He nips at EJ’s neck, and the noise EJ makes almost ruins Nate. Then his eyes get wide and all of the sudden, EJ is pushing Nate off, like he’s come to his senses. 

Nate looks at him, and can’t figure out why EJ looks like he’s been burned. EJ excuses himself, and leaves Nate standing at the bar. The bartender drops the drinks in front of him and Nate grabs them, wandering off to where the team is sitting. 

“You guys seen EJ? I have his drink,” Nate asks, sliding into the open seat next to Tyson. 

“I haven’t seen him since the two of you went up to the bar,” Colin says, swirling the straw in his drink around. Nate’s phone buzzes with a text from EJ. 

_**tell the guys i left**_ it reads, and Nate raises an eyebrow. He looks up at the guys at the table, but it seems the moment has lapsed, and the conversation’s changed. 

_**You okay?**_ Nate texts back, and waits for a response. After what feels like an eternity, he finally gets a reply back. 

_**im fine** _

At this, Nate narrows his eyes, and gets up. 

“Where you goin’, bud?” Gabe asks, sitting down next to Colin. He’s got some bright blue drink, and it looks revolting enough for Tyson to absolutely love it. 

“I’m tired, so I’m heading home for the night,” Nate replies, leaving his untouched drink on the table. He calls an Uber, and makes his way outside. 

Nate’s not sure what’s going on but he realizes, standing there on the sidewalk, that he just might be in love with EJ and that he’s probably royally fucked something up. 

***

Nate stares down EJ’s front door, there to tell him just exactly how he feels. He had already texted EJ to tell him that he was on his way over. The butterflies in his stomach are getting worse the longer he waits. He jams his finger against the doorbell and waits, rocking on his heels. 

The door swings open, and EJ is already in sweats and standing in the doorway looking at Nate, his face absolutely unreadable. 

Nate’s invited inside, and he shuts the door behind him. It feels strangely like all the times Nate has had to invite EJ into different places. However, right now Nate feels like he’s over thought this and completely misread the whole situation. There’s no way EJ actually likes him, and he most certainly doesn’t want to talk to Nate. 

EJ steps into his space and Nate lifts his head to look up at him, eyes glancing over his lips briefly. He can’t look EJ in the eyes, and looks at his nose instead. 

“Look, I understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but I need to tell you something,” Nate says, voice hesitant. He almost stumbles on the words, and EJ looks at him, mouth pulled tight, like he’s injured but hasn’t left the game yet. 

“You just can’t mess with a man’s emotions like that, Nathan,” EJ tells him, after a moment’s silence. “I don’t know where you were going with all that earlier, but if you were trying to lead me on or something, it wasn’t cute.” 

“I wasn’t,” Nate says, voice soft. He’s finally able to meet EJ’s eyes, and his heart breaks at the hurt all over his face. Nate did this, and he realizes right then that he has to fix this. He can’t wait any longer. 

“So then, what was that? An attempt to get over how horny you are by hooking up with the closest person? Even if that’s your fellow teammate?” EJ asks, eyes dropping to the floor. Shit. 

“No, I just. Okay I know it looks bad, but EJ, I really like you. I didn’t mean to hurt you, honest,” Nate tells him, and EJ’s eyes meet Nate’s. 

“What do you mean, you like me? You’re not messing with my head here?” His voice is shaking and Nate steps just a little bit closer. If he leaned up, he could close the distance and kiss EJ like he wanted to. 

“I mean that I’m in love with you. Desperately, hopelessly, endlessly in love with you, Erik Johnson.” Nate replies, voice low, words spilling out. He feels like he just stumbled out of a Jane Austen novel, but then EJ is kissing him, and he’s almost too stunned to react. 

He grips onto the back of EJ’s shirt, and EJ pushes him up against the wall, pressing up against him. His mouth is hot, but the rest of his body is freezing. It’s the weirdest contrast Nate has ever felt. He kinda likes it. 

Nate catches his teeth on EJ’s bottom lip, and EJ groans. It’s a lot, and Nate’s breathing hard when they finally break apart. EJ presses his forehead against Nate’s, trying to catch his breath. 

“So, like you’re serious? About all this?” EJ asks, breathless. 

“100 percent,” Nate replies, cupping EJ’s face in his hands and kissing him again, just because.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Annie for reading over this! I hope y’all like it :D!
> 
> Title is from Love U by Mia Gladstone
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [yousee-saros](https://yousee-saros.tumblr.com/). There’s not much there but that’s where I can be found!


End file.
